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Rift, Vive or PlayStation VR ?

Discussion in 'VR Headsets and Sim Gaming - Virtual Reality' started by simupp, Nov 6, 2017.

  1. simupp

    simupp New Member

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    Hello everyone!. For a sim, what are your opinion about the best VR system ? Rift, Vive or PlayStation VR? Why?. Only about features, not price. Thanks.
  2. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    In my view PlayStationVR does not have the same scope of motion plugins as PC VR options.

    I have the Rift and Vive and both have their pros and cons.

    The Rift has a bigger sweet spot and less screen door effect than the Vive, though the God rays are worse on the Rift. It also has integrated audio and Oculus has ATW (so does SteamVR) and ASW (Oculus only) that help with games that are not well optimised for VR, like sim ports.

    The quality of Rift tracking does vary significantly depending on how many cameras are used and there is considerable differences in the robustness of tracking between 2 and 4 cameras, so consider a third camera for roomscale use: http://ghostline.xyz/publications/Waltz-of-the-Wizard-comparing-room-scale-May-2017.pdf#[{"num":1375,"gen":0},{"name":"XYZ"},0,595,0]

    From my personal testing around 4.2 x 4.2m (around 17.5sq m) with 4 cameras on USB3 seems to be about the Rift roomscale tracking limit, in ideal circumstances, personally I think reliable stable performance is a good bit below that.

    Also note that the Rift does not play nice with all USB ports or cables, and other USB peripherals like wheels, pedals and HOTAS may complicate the USB bandwidth issues. So you may need a new USB card and specific USB cables for Rift roomscale at its upper limits.

    The Vive is better for specific use cases, like: large roomscale and robust tracking with base stations up to 8+m apart, the 10-50sq m tracking volume is really owned by the Vive as the out of the box tracking volume capability of the Vive (up to around 50sq m) far exceeds what the Rift is capable of (around 9-15sq m); it does not need USB cables snaking everywhere as the base stations just need power; the Vive is more extensible with existing wireless and tracked peripherals; it supports native motion cancellation for motion simulation; better accommodate glasses and has greater adjustability for eye issues.

    Touch is great for simulating hands and the Vive wands for simulating things, like guns or swords. I do a lot of public demos and non gamers find the Vive wands more intuitive, as they equate the track pad to using a phone, but gamers who are used to controllers tend to prefer Touch.

    There are also other contenders looming, such as the just released Microsoft mixed reality HMDs with inside out tracking (SteamVR support coming but not at launch), the ultra wide view Pimax 8K, suposedly in January 2018 (some questions about distortion, final htz rate and actual 8k capability, uses SteamVR tracking), the LG HMD (also SteamVR), though the price and release data are not yet know. It will have the new Valve base stations that will increase tracking volume and fidelity way above that of the Vive, is more ergonomic than the Vive and has better screens than the Vive or Rift, plus I live in hope the LG VR HMD will include the knuckles controllers, which are already in the hands of devs.

    With the permanent Rift price reduction you have to weigh up the all in cost, including future upgrade possibilities like using the Vive base stations with the Pimax, and the pros and cons both the Rift and Vive have, particularly with the Deluxe Audio Strap being an additional cost for the Vive and extra cameras and possibly USB cards and cables being costs for the Rift, then consider if recent released HMDs and pending alternatives are worth the wait or not.

    If it delivers on time and specs the Pimax is probably the best VR motion sim option, as it has wide FOV, less screen door and as it uses SteamVR the exiting motion cancellation option will work. I guess many of us who threw our hat in the Pimax ring will know soon enough, one way or the other.
    • Informative Informative x 1
    Last edited: Nov 9, 2017
  3. Seth2Christ

    Seth2Christ Member

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    As you say "If it delivers on time and specs", but for now I remain pessimistic about Pimax
  4. simupp

    simupp New Member

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    seth2christ why are you pessimistic about Pimax ?
  5. Seth2Christ

    Seth2Christ Member

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    The biggest screen builder can not miniaturize a 4K screen. Necessary nanotechnology does not require. I do not see how a small startup will get to do what giants like samsung or LG try to do for years ...
    Or, they may come out late and they will be rude and heavy.

    For the moment, I remain pessimistic. I'm waiting to see what's next.
    But Pimax is typically the kind of startup that is surfing speculation on the pretext that they have a 5K version.

    Generally speaking, you have to be careful with startups. They do not have the same issues as a large company. They can say "we will do the impossible, give us money!". If it does not work they lose nothing... On the other hand if Samsung, htc, or google says "we will make a helmet 8k" is more than take seriously because it means that everything is already calculated.

    For a finished product, I prefer to rely on what is achievable.
    By cons, I'm not against innovation, quite the contrary! But first, that they show something functional and what it looks like!